China

The Decision-Making Process

The most crucial foreign policy decisions in the mid-1980s were
made by the highest-level leadership, with Deng Xiaoping as the
final arbiter. A shift was underway, however, to strengthen the
principles of collective and institutional decision making and, at
the same time, to reduce party involvement in favor of increased
state responsibility. In line with this trend, the State Council
made foreign policy decisions regarding routine matters and
referred only major decisions either to the party Secretariat or to
informal deliberations involving Deng Xiaoping for resolution. When
called upon to make decisions, the Secretariat relied largely on
the advice of the State Council and members of China's foreign
affairs community. The importance of the Political Bureau appeared
to have lessened. Although individual members of the Political
Bureau exerted influence on the shaping of foreign policy, the
Political Bureau's role as an institution seemed to have become one
of ratifying decisions, rather than formulating them. The division
between party and government functions in foreign affairs as of the
mid-1980s could therefore be summarized as party supremacy in
overall policy making and supervision, with the government's State
Council and ministries under it responsible for the daily conduct
of foreign relations.

These high-level decision-making bodies comprised the apex of
an elaborate network of party and government organizations and
research institutes concerned with foreign policy. To support the
formulation and implementation of policy, especially in a
bureaucracy as complex and hierarchical as China's, there existed
a network of small advisory and coordination groups. These groups
functioned to channel research, provide expert advice, and act as
a liaison between organizations. Perhaps the most important of
these groups was the party Secretariat's Foreign Affairs Small
Group. This group comprised key party and government officials,
including the president, the premier, state councillors, the
ministers of foreign affairs and foreign economic relations and
trade, and various foreign affairs specialists, depending on the
agenda of the meeting. The group possibly met weekly, or as
required by circumstances. Liaison and advisory functions were
provided by other groups, including the State Council's Foreign
Affairs Coordination Point, the staff of the premier's and State
Council's offices, and bilateral policy groups, such as one
composed of ministers and vice ministers of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade,
which met at least every few months.

In the late 1980s, the decision-making process for foreign
policy matters followed a fairly hierarchical pattern. If a
particular ministry was unable to make a decision because the
purview of other ministries was involved, it would attempt to
resolve the issue through informal discussion or through an
interagency group. If that was not successful or if higher-level
consideration was needed, the problem might be referred to the
Foreign Affairs Coordination Point or to select members of the
State Council for review. Certain major decisions would then be
discussed by the Foreign Affairs Small Group before consideration
by the party Secretariat itself. If the issue was extremely
controversial or important, the final decision would be directed to
the highest-level leadership, particularly Deng Xiaoping.